Better Off
by Anake14
Summary: Kyoko is used to people walking in and out of her life. After years of suffering from the memories, she finally thinks she just might be better off. Songfic. Twoshot. Spoilers?
1. Chapter 1

Better Off

Disclaimer: I don't own Skip Beat! or any recognizable figures, they belong to their respective owners. The song Better Off belongs to the wonderful singing styles of Sara Evans and was the inspiration for this fic.

 _Emphasis_

Kyoko was used to people walking out on her. Her mother left her with the Fuwa family at a young age and walked out of her life. It didn't matter how often she cried and begged for her mother to stay. It didn't matter how well she tried to do in school or act like a good girl. Nothing pleased her mother. She knew Corn for a few weeks and, though they were magical, he too had left and told her they would not meet again.

When Fuwa Sho, her childhood, and only, friend called her a maid and told her he would not be returning to the place she had worked so hard for and firmly established she would never be anything to him it broke something in her. The innocence she had, the love she felt, it destroyed a childish crush and all feelings of friendship she had carried for years. She had learned this lesson with her mother. Crying didn't do anything. No one would come, no one would be a source of comfort, and no one would care about someone whose heart was breaking, no matter who said otherwise.

Since she knew crying was useless she did the only other things she could have. She laughed. Laughed at how utterly stupid and foolish she had been. Laughed at the shattered dreams of friendship and love, even though her heart was breaking into so many unrecognizable pieces she doubted she'd even recognize herself.

Mogami Kyoko had learned many things from her mother's leaving and now she knew the undeniable truth as well. When someone leaves or wants to go you can't make them stay and watching only hurts more.

She grabbed all of his things and packed them away, either to be sold or donated. Honestly, she didn't care. Everything she had done for him and he had thrown that in her face as if the years they spent together were nothing. This time she didn't have to watch someone leave. This time, she didn't cry or even say she loved him.

This time, she grabbed her suitcase and packed all her things into it. She quit two of her jobs and decided to work at the Darumaya, where the couple who owned the restaurant had graciously agreed to allow her to work and live for a cheaper rent while she tried to break into show business. Revenge on Fuwa Sho really could be considered a matter of equivalence, since it would prove that he had thrown away something precious, even if she knew she would never feel the same way about him again.

No, she couldn't forgive him. Not for what he had done to her, whether he knew it or not, that part of her was gone and she never wanted to be the 'good girl' again. No man would ever take advantage of her the way he had and no man would ever hold so much control over her being. She doesn't need that kind of love.

Most importantly, even though she had sworn revenge and wanted to make him kneel at her feet to acknowledge she was better, she wasn't waiting for him anymore. She no longer had any hope that he would ever return for her in that manner and she pushed all thoughts of love and those feelings aside into a box, locking and sealing them away. She never wanted to be so foolish again.

The Love Me Section. Kyoko really couldn't think of a way to describe the eccentric president's brain child to help people rediscover lost emotions, but in some ways she was glad to be a part of it as well. She was getting to experience so many new things like having friends and slowly she's starting to accept that others might actually come to care for her the way she had always wanted…the way she had given up any hope for once Shotaro had shattered her heart.

Kyoko had known that the president's mission for her would be dangerous, it was obvious by the aura Tsuruga-san gave off at the start and he had scared her. She had known once she became Setsuka that the mission would be complicated and risky for the both of them. She had not realized how dangerous the mission would prove to the locks and seals that she had used on the emotions she had so painstakingly sealed away so she would never have to fear or fall in love again.

If Kyoko had known the dangers of being Setsuka and what it would reawaken in her heart she knew she would have taken the job anyway, if only to protect the incredible man that was her senpai. Even if she had known about Ren's deception regarding his identity as both Corn, her fairy prince, and Hizuri Kuon, Kuu's son, she still would have chose to help him. Regardless of Kyoko's beliefs that she could never be loved, it would never stop her from helping those she had come to care for; Ren just seemed to take the most space in her heart.

Kyoko relied on her little grudge demons to control the love angels that once controlled her entire being. She relied on those grudges to secure her heart and stronghold the wall she wanted to build for the sake of protecting herself. Of course, along with her role of Setsuka, she never could have guessed her role in Ren's life. Despite bringing Ren back and calling him out from shadows as Setsuka, the true meaning of that and the choice Ren made regarding his own feelings for her would remain unknown.

As they grew closer and time passed with the roles, Kyoko became steadily more aware of the locks. They were being opened faster than she could close them again. Ren was getting past all her defenses and she was helpless to him, helpless to fight against the emotions he brought out. As Setsuka she could be as close as she liked, but in turn she had not thought about Cain's own possessiveness and how the characters would feed off each other's desires.

She had relied on using the role of Setsuka to keep a barrier between herself and Ren. She relied on that role to maintain a distance, even if using that role was the only way she could openly express the feelings that came with the opening of the locks. Yet somehow there was a truth to time's healing and this time she thought maybe it would be okay to fall, at least this time she's better off.


	2. Chapter 2

Better Off

Disclaimer: I don't own Skip Beat! or any recognizable figures, they belong to their respective owners.

Epilogue: Better Than You Left Me

The way Sho had left was cruel. It wasn't a real goodbye, but those words were still cold and still haunted Kyoko. The way those words marked her would seem unimportant, but her battered self esteem and the way she had devoted herself so completely to everything she did were the main focus for her revenge. Yet, the more she thought of the past her anger was more for not even being considered a _friend_ , just some maid to the boy she had grown up with.

The only thing she hadn't been able to get over was her anger and hurt at being left alone. That was the anger that fueled her revenge. Kyoko was angry that he didn't even have the nerve to tell her to her face, she had to _overhear_ him. As time went by, she wasn't the same person. She wasn't the same person she was a few months ago, let alone a few years ago, and the more she thought about it, she was doing better.

Kyoko knew she was getting stronger, she was better than when her mother left her. While what Sho had done had hurt, she had needed it to be on her own and she knows that she's better than when he left too. In fact, when she thought about it she was really better than she should be, because she had thought what he had done had destroyed her ability to love, yet now she has friends. She has more people in her life that care about her; really and truly care about her well-being, now than she ever did when she lived with just Sho or even when they lived with his parents back in Kyoto.

No, the girl he knew back then had just barely begun to be a woman and what he destroyed in her had made the new Mogami Kyoko stronger. Sure, she had cracks and bruises and a few pieces broken off, but she was becoming a woman that had previously been an uncut, unpolished gem that now shone and gleamed brighter than many others.

It was funny that Sho wanted her now. That he tried to claim her as his possession, like she should still be waiting for him, like he was giving her what she wanted after so long and she should be grateful and accept him back like when he had left and came back before. She snorted at the thought.

Sho was such a spoiled child he still couldn't see past himself, couldn't see the truth in the hurt he caused her or the real depth of the pain he had inflicted on her. The issue, she thought to herself, is that he thinks he still knows me like he did before. He can't see past himself to see how much better she is than she was before and that he doesn't know her anymore. He doesn't see that the person who knows her best would be Kuon or Kanae.

Had this been the past Kyoko would have been thrilled for Sho's attention. Thrilled to have Sho courting her and trying to win her heart. Escatic that the one she gave her heart to and showered in love and attention was returning the affections in ways she hadn't known he could.

On his part, Sho couldn't understand Kyoko's new attitude. Sure she wanted revenge, to beat him in the entertainment industry and prove she was the better entertainer. He had even thrown a challenge at Tsuruga Ren to remind them that his place in Kyoko's heart was greater. It should have been easy to win her back considering his ability to fill her mind with thoughts of him, even just those of revenge.

On Kuon's part, he was pleased with Kyoko's progress. She was finally moving forward. She had nothing to prove to anyone and was learning her heart was her own and there were those who would treasure the gift for what it would be. He was glad that she was making so much progress so quickly in the entertainment world, proud of her even for the progress she had made in not giving in to Fuwa's antagonistic attitude. Kyoko was rose so quickly Fuwa Sho thought he deserved a place at her side, but Kyoko would never choose him again. This time, Fuwa was on the losing side. He had lost Kyoko and now knew just what a loss it really was when he threw her aside.

No, it was much too late for Fuwa to have any place in Kyoko's heart aside from maybe a friendship if he ever apologized and matured enough to recognize just how much he had hurt her. It was funny, what time could do and how it could change perspective. Kyoko was well aware that her infatuation with Sho was more due to pushing her idea of how he was on him over how he really was and in turn his behavior and opinions fed off her own behavior and actions. Sho thought he was entitled to her, but he was wrong.

Being able to put things in this perspective helped Kyoko. It helped her get over Sho walking away from her and her own feelings regarding the boy she once cared for and that in turn helped her get over her aversion to love. Moving forward was hard, letting go hurt so much more than trying to hold on to the fantasy.

Kuu-sensei had taught her that stumbles were a part of life and that picking herself up would help her be more adaptable as an actress. It wasn't too hard to adjust to that perspective once she realized that her learning the lesson he had been trying to teach had only brought her closer to the man that let her call him Father.

Kyoko was a stronger woman than the one Sho had known and he didn't know her anymore at all. Becoming an actress may be the first thing she had done for herself despite choosing to enter the show biz world for her revenge, but she was smiling brighter than she ever had. Her laughter was beautiful and her friends helped her love deeper than she ever had.

Sho didn't see what they saw. He didn't see that she couldn't love him or go back to before. He didn't see that every day that had past she had left him behind and her friends were teaching her the true meaning of the emotions she had tried to forsake.

Every day that Ren bothered to take time to talk to her and help her, she spent time helping him too. In some ways they helped each other unknowingly and it was through each other that they had begun to move past the things holding them back. Slowly they were opening up to each other and opening up their hearts that they had closed off because of foolish mistakes.

Ren and Kyoko couldn't see it, but everyone else could and it was a source of jealousy to some though more than that the jealousy was for the connection they shared that others wished they could find as well. The two of them were soaring higher in the entertainment world and it was because they had each other.

A/N: Somehow, my one-shots that I start with when I enter a "new" fandom always do better than my multi-chapters. Except for when I decide to continue them into something longer. For reference I've been in the Skip Beat fandom for years but never really had the inspiration to write for it until now. Better Off is essentially a foray into the fandom to see how it would be received, but I guess it seemed a bit incomplete since I left it open ended. Due to a few follows and faves, you guys get a little epilogue. Better Off was inspired by a song of that name sung by Sara Evans. This Epilogue was inspired by the song Better Than You Left Me by Mickey Guyton.


End file.
